First, not all campgrounds have a rating. The ratings will only show up for those that have (TL = Trailer Life) ratings and not all of them have this. Then using the filters tabs will allow you to see only the campgrounds that have ratings equal to or higher than that rating you select in the filter.

Like Xavier says, if there IS a rating it will show in the Info box at the bottom of that campground's information. Otherwise it will be blank for no ratings.

Regarding not seeing the TL Ratings....I see another minor issue, and that is, the ratings are at the very bottom of the campground listing when you click on "SHOW INFO". Most of the time that data page about the campground is so full of information you have to stop scanning with your mouse, move over to the scroll down bar, scan down to the bottom, check the TL Rating, then go back to scanning again.

Since the ratings are one of the first items most people look for in a campground, that should be more towards the top of the info section, that way you would not have to scroll down each time to see the TL Rating. Instead, as you move your mouse over the "P" or the "S" of the various campgrounds, you can just glance over to the info section and immediately see the TL Rating, then keep moving on. I know, it's being a little picky, but in this fast age of click, click, click, it would be nicer.

Good point PJG. Sometimes rating systems themselves need a rating system. One person's excellent is another person's so-so. The link you provided is commonly referenced in many other forums.

Do keep in mind that TLDCN is Trailer Life's product and hence will be rated per TL standards, rules and guidelines applied to them, and they might not reflect how you would rate a place. If nothing else, what you'll do after visiting many of these campgrounds, is learn what TL uses for comparisons sometimes. Also, if you are just traveling through, you might not care if the campground has a great view, because convenience turns a low rating of 3 into a rating of 10 if it is along the way, especially if you have your own shower and don't plan on using theirs. Happens to us all the time. We have pretty good tolerance for stuff and find often enough that the sucky clientele is less than desired compared to a wonderful looking campground.

artmart wrote:We have pretty good tolerance for stuff and find often enough that the sucky clientele is less than desired compared to a wonderful looking campground.

It might be a good (fun) idea to start a thread of "sucky clientele", i.e., real stories of the undesirable neighbors we all end up with, in some of these campgrounds We don;t need to name the neighbors or even the campground, but I think we'd end up with some interesting stories.

What I'd like to see here is a section where "we" the users can rate campgrounds, instead of some company, like Trailer Life doing it. This way, we'll get a more realistic review, in-line with user expectations. I don't know if undertow would be willing to do that, but if they do, I think it would be a great idea!

And before everyone jumps on me about there already being such sites with reviews, I know and I use them. But most of them are full of fluff, possibly posted by owners of the campgrounds themselves. This board appears to be more balanced, so I hope that if they start a section on ratings it will be more balanced, as well.

IanRoth wrote:What I'd like to see here is a section where "we" the users can rate campgrounds, instead of some company, like Trailer Life doing it. This way, we'll get a more realistic review, in-line with user expectations. I don't know if undertow would be willing to do that, but if they do, I think it would be a great idea!

And before everyone jumps on me about there already being such sites with reviews, I know and I use them. But most of them are full of fluff, possibly posted by owners of the campgrounds themselves. This board appears to be more balanced, so I hope that if they start a section on ratings it will be more balanced, as well.

undertow, what do you say?

I strongly second your suggestion. That would be an excellent idea! Undertow, are you listening?

Sorry, but I vote NO on the suggestion that UnderTow become a campground rating company and this be the place for it. There are so many other sites around, why add that task to their mix. I prefer they work on the UnderTow products and leave ratings to some one else.

When it comes to ratings we'll still run into the differences of what we consider important for our ratings that might cloud or conflict with others and their impressions of what a campground should provide. For example, I know of some who like to camp where they can party to their hearts delight, let the kids and their animals run rampant and that is NOT my idea of a good campground. I prefer more quiet, use my own activities for entertainment and expect other family or friends to remain as calm and quiet, no matter what their age.

Ask me about a campground and I'll give you MY opinion, but it might go against what you would emphasize as desired accommodation and features.

I do like the idea of a Topic with "sucky clientele". I have a few stories of some undesirables where we've camped. I also wouldn't be surprised if one day that we were pretty sucky ourselves one day. I can probably think of the only time I was, but won't fess up unless someone really wants to know (I was much younger, not as wise and certainly not as experienced.) I know. That's hard to believe ain't it?

and so on... I'm sure one could come up with a simple rate/review guide that would give someone reading it a pretty good idea of whether they'd like to stay there, or not and eliminate most of the "subjective judgement" stuff. I know their program already has much more than this info, but I was proposing something that is done by RV-ers, rather than by a company.

Anyway, we don;t have to agree I like the idea, and you hate it. That's fine Now, how about starting a thread with the "neighbors from hell"? You sound like you've had a good deal of RV-ing time on your odometer, so why don't you start it up